Convertible desk

ABSTRACT

A convertible desk comprises a first furniture module, a second furniture module, and a bridge for joining the modules together. The first module maybe a file cart, and the second module may be a chest of drawers. Notches are formed at the upper ends of the modules, and the bridge fits into notches to form a continuous planar horizontal surface for a desk top. Connections, such as depending pins, and cavities to receive the pins, are located at each corner of the bridge, to retain the bridge in a fixed position. When the user wishes to covert the desk to another piece of furniture, such as a storage unit, the pins on the bridge are removed from the cavities and the bridge is set aside so that the modules are free to be re-arranged in an abutting or side-by-side manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a convertible desk comprising a first furnituremodule, a second furniture module, and a bridge for joining the modulestogether to form a desk. Upon removal of the bridge, the furnituremodules can be re-arranged to function as a different piece offurniture.

Furniture units that may be reconfigured to serve two, or more, purposesare known. To illustrate, U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,668, granted Jul. 23, 2002to James O. Kelley et al., shows a combination credenza and desk.

More specifically, Kelley et al. discloses a furniture unit thatcomprises a closed-face credenza (10) that folds out to form an L-shapeddesk (11). The unit comprises a stationary desk having a partially openfront, with a kneehole opening (84). A moveable return (13) is pivotallymounted at one side of the desk; the return comprises a vertical facepanel (34) and a work surface (42) mounted at a rear side of the facepanel, as shown in FIG. 2. The return is pivoted between a closedportion, wherein the face panel covers the open portion of the front ofthe desk and the return is concealed behind the face panel, as shown inFIG. 1, and an open position wherein the face panel is pivoted outwardfrom the front of the desk, exposing the kneehole opening in the desk.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the principles of the invention, applicant disclosesa convertible desk comprising a first furniture module, a secondfurniture module, and a bridge for joining the modules together to forma desk with a knee-hole opening. The modules are versatile and mayassume diverse forms. In the preferred embodiment, the first moduleassumes the form of a file storage unit and the second unit assumes theform of a chest of drawers. The bridge is a rectangular member thatdefines, with the first and second modules, a continuous, unbroken,horizontal plane that serves as a desk top.

The first and second furniture modules are mounted on casters orrollers. Consequently, when the bridge is removed from engagement withthe first and second modules, one module may be moved relative to theother module, so that the modules are in an abutting relationship. Themodules, when re-arranged in such manner, function as a storageassembly, as contrasted with a desk.

A first notch is located at the intersection of the side wall of thefirst furniture module and the top of the first module. A second notchis located at the intersection of the side wall and the top of thesecond module. The thickness of the bridge corresponds to the depth ofthe notches, so that the bridge fits completely into the notches.

Pins, or other mechanical fasteners, depend from the bridge, at eachcorner thereof. Matching cavities are defined at the upper ends of theside walls of the first and second furniture modules. The pins dependdownwardly into the cavities to lock the bridge in a fixed position, anddefine a desk. The pins are withdrawn from the cavities when one wishesto convert the desk into a different piece of furniture, such as astorage unit.

The convertible desk is versatile, and allows the user to reconfiguresame to meet the limited spatial arrangement requirements of adormitory, urban apartment, or office. The ability to re-configure thedesk to meet other demands, without resorting to tools for joining themodule together, is a significant advantage of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofthe embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a convertible desk constructed in accordancewith the principles of applicant's invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the desk of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the desk of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the desk of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the desk of FIG. 1, but re-configured asa chest of drawers and a file storage unit;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the chest of drawers and filed storage unitof FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the chest of drawers and filestorage unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the drawers of FIG. 5, such viewbeing taken from the fright side of the chest of drawers;

FIGS. 9-14 show the sequence of steps undertaken to convert the desk ofFIG. 1 in to the chest of drawers and file storage unite of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 15 shows a connection for joining the bridge of the convertibledesk of FIG. 1 to a first or second furniture module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, applicant's convertible desk isindicated, generally, by reference numeral 10. Desk 10 comprises threemajor components, namely file cart 12, chest of drawers 14, and bridge16 which spans the opening between file cart 12 and chest of drawers 14.

File cart 12 comprises a rectangular base 18, with casters or wheels 20,secured to the corners of the base. Columns 22 and 24 extend upwardlyfrom one side of base 18, and top 26 closes the upper end of the cart.The cart 12 is open on three sides, but vertically extending wall 28extends between base 18 and top 26, which are parallel to one another.Two, or more, horizontally extending shelves 30 and 32, complete cart12.

Bridge 16 is a horizontally extending rectangular member that fitsbetween file cart 12 and chest of drawers 14; and securely joins thecart and chest of drawers together. Bridge 16 is rectangular in shape.Mechanical connections on the underside of bridge 16, not visible inFIGS. 1-4, but shown in FIG. 15, join the cart, bridge, and chest ofdrawers together. Bridge 16 possesses the same thickness as the top 26of file cart 12 and the top of chest of drawers 14. Bridge 16 fits intonotch 27 at the upper end of file cart 12, and into notch 29 at theupper end of chest of drawers 14. Notches 27 and 29 are shown in FIG. 2,and also in FIG. 5. The depth of the notches 27, 29 corresponds to thethickness of bridge 16, so that the bridge 16, when seated, forms acontinuous planar, horizontal surface level with the upper end of cart12 and chest of drawers 14. The planar, horizontal surface functions asa desk top.

Chest of drawers 14 comprises left side wall 34, a large bottom drawer36, and three smaller drawers 38, 40, and 42. The right side wall, whichis parallel to left side wall 34, is not visible. Top 44 completes theupper end of chest of drawers 14. Casters 46, or wheels, are secured toeach corner of the chest of drawers 14, so that the chest can easily bemoved. A large kneehole opening 48 is formed below bridge 16 and extendsbetween cart 12 and chest of drawers 14. A desk chair (not shown) may beinserted into the opening so that one can use bridge 16 as a desk top.

FIG. 5 depicts convertible desk 10 of FIGS. 1-4 reconfigured as acompact storage unit 50. The storage unit, which occupies less spacethan desk 10, is achieved by re-arranging the components of convertibledesk 10. To illustrate, bridge 16 is removed from desk 10, and chest ofdrawers 14, and file cart 12 and chest of drawers 14 are aligned, andmay be joined together, in a side-by-side manner. Kneehole opening 48 issacrificed in the interest of a more compact, space saving arrangementfor storage unit 50.

Storage unit 50 comprises chest of drawers 14 and file cart 12 arrangedin an abutting side-by-side relationship. Bridge 16 has been removed andno longer spans the kneehole opening 48 in convertible desk 10. Whereasfile cart 12 is located to the right of chest of drawers 14 as part ofthe convertible desk 10, file cart 12 now appears at the left of chestof drawers 14, to form storage unit 50. The details of storage unit 50are shown in FIGS. 5-8.

FIGS. 9-14 show the sequence of steps required to convert desk 10, seenin FIGS. 1-4, into storage cabinet 50, shown in FIGS. 5-8. The castersor wheels have been omitted from file cart 12 and chest of drawers 14 tosimplify the drawings.

FIG. 9 shows the convertible desk 10 in the usual configuration of filecart 12, chest of drawers 14 and bridge 16, that cooperate to definekneehole opening 48 in the desk. A desk chair (not shown) may be movedinto the opening, so that a person seated on the chair may attend towork upon the upper surface of bridge 16.

FIG. 10 shows one end of bridge 16 disengaged the notch at the upper endof file cart 12. Bridge 16 may pivot downwardly relative to chest ofdrawers 14, and/or may be lifted upwardly out of engagement with filecart 12 and chest of drawers 14. File cart 12 is now available formovement.

FIGS. 11-13 shows file cart 12 in the process of movement relative tochest of drawers 14. Bridge 16 is removed from engagement with chest ofdrawers 14, and may be placed in storage until needed again. FIG. 11shows file cart 12 moved forward relative to chest of drawers 14, FIG.12 shows file cart 12 moving in front of the chest of drawers 14, andFIG. 13 shows file cart 12 moved to the left side of chest of drawers14.

FIG. 14 shows file cart 12 positioned at the left side of chest ofdrawers 14, in an abutting, parallel relationship. The conversion of thedesk 10, as shown in FIG. 1, into storage unit 50, as shown in FIG. 5,has been completed. The procedure may be reversed. When the user wishesto convert storage unit 50 into desk 10; bridge 16 is postured, again,in notches 47, 49 at the upper ends of file cart 12 and chest of drawers14.

FIG. 15 shows a connection for joining bridge 16 to sidewall 28 of filecart 12. A connection is located in each corner of bridge 16. Only arepresentative portion of bridge 16 is visible. A connector pin 52 isaffixed to each corner of bridge 16, which is rectangular in shape. Pin52 fits snugly into upwardly opening cavity 54 in sidewall 28 of filecart 12. Two cavities are formed atop sidewall 28 in notch 27 of filecart 12, and two cavities (not shown) are formed in notch 27 atopsidewall 34 of chest of drawers 14. An L-shaped brace 56 retains top 26of storage file 12 in fixed position. Pin 52 and cavity 54 cooperate toestablish a fixed “home” position for bridge 16. To remove bridge 16 inpreparation for converting desk 10 to storage unit 50, the pins 52 arelifted out of cavities 54, without binding. The notches 27, 29 are deepenough to accommodate the thickness of bridge 16, which forms a planar,horizontal surface.

Modifications and alterations in the applicant's invention, such as inthe nature of the connection between modules 12, 14 and bridge 16, mayoccur to the artisan. The configuration of file cart 12, and chest ofdrawers 14, may be altered. Bridge 16 may be made of wood or plastic.File cart 12 and chest of drawers 14 may be joined together by simplemechanical fasteners. Consequently, the appended claims should bebroadly construed in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope ofapplicant's invention, and should not be limited to their literal terms.

1. A convertible desk comprising: a) a first furniture module, having abase, at top, and at least one wall extending vertically therebetween,b) a first notch defined at the upper end of said first module, at theintersection of said top and said vertically extending wall, c) a secondfurniture module having a base, a top, and at least one wall extendingvertically therebetween, d) a second notch defined at the upper end ofthe second module, at the intersection of said top and said verticallyextending wall, e) a bridge fitting into said notches, f) said notchesbeing deep enough to receive the thickness of said bridge, g)connections are defined between said notches on said first and secondmodules and the underside of said bridge, whereby h) said bridge forms aplanar surface with the upper ends of said modules to define a desk top,and the space between the modules and beneath the bridge forms akneehole opening adapted to receive a desk chair.
 2. The convertibledesk as recited in claim 1, wherein said connectors comprise dependingpins on the underside of said bridge that fit into upwardly openingcavities in the first and second furniture modules.
 3. The convertibledesk as recited in claim 2, wherein said bridge is rectangular in shape,and said pins are located at each corner of said bridge.
 4. Theconvertible desk as recited in claim 1, wherein said first modulecomprises a file cart, said file cart comprising a top, a base, andcolumns, extending vertically between the base and the top, and aplurality of horizontally extending shelves.
 5. The convertible desk asrecited in claim 4, further comprising a vertically extending wall thatencloses one side of said file cart.
 6. The convertible desk, as recitedin claim 4, further comprising casters secured to the file cart forallowing said cart to be moved.
 7. The convertible desk as recited inclaim 1, wherein said second furniture module comprises a chest ofdrawers.
 8. The convertible desk as recited in claim 7, furthercomprising casters secured to said chest of drawers for allowing saidchest of drawers to be freely moved.
 9. The convertible desk as recitedin claim 1, wherein removal of said bridge permits said first furnituremodule and second furniture module to be re-arranged into a differentconfiguration.
 10. The convertible desk as recited in claim 9, whereinsaid first and second furniture modules can be re-arranged into anabutting, side-by-side relationship, to define a storage assembly.